Snubby for CCW, What do you guys like?

personally I think you had a good Idea going with the ruger LCR, I'm also from prescott AZ where they have a plant so I'm kinda biased towards ruger a little.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB2nmIcSv1s

 

I love that guy-


I did, however, end up picking up the S&W 638. I know I was biased towards it in the get go, but I am really impressed at how much effort it does take to put it into single-action, and the weight of it. I also like these grips, however every LCR I've shot or held has had the CT on it.

I did look at the bodyguard and the other S&W snubbys they had, but the 638 was by far my favorite.





Another interesting thing- they had a magazine-fed, bolt action 12 gauge shotgun that someone had traded in for $370. I forget who the maker was- but it was definitely intriguing. I didn't know there was such a thing as a bolt-action magazine-fed 12 gauge!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIjwytB3iZQ

 

They're popular in states like Illinois that don't allow rifles for deer hunting.

 

Ruger LCR .357 hands down.

 

Here's my grouping with the 638 at 7 yards in Double Action.

 

Here's my woman's. The bottom two (labeled) she shot single-action.

 

I assume the shotgun was a savage. I think Browning is coming out with an A-bolt or X-bolt slug gun but thats going to cost around a G.
I hear great things about the lcr and lcp but I think I would stick with a j frame S&W.
I CCW a Kahr CW40 and love it, kind of wish I got the CW9 so my wife could carry it when I am carrying full size.

 

For the record, my buddy with the LCR is regretting his purchase after shooting my 638, he bought it based on the reviews by nutnfancy.

I did notice that the LCR is significantly lighter than the 638 because partial sections of the frame are composite, but I suppose that's your choice to make.

 

I have owned both and there is no comparison. However the LCR 38 is different than the LCR 357 in both composition and weight. The .357 is stainless while the .38 is aluminum. My smiths are all safe queens now.

 

Why a revolver really? I'm just curious of the benifit over a polymer grip semi auto?

Oh, and XD FTW BABY (XDm .40 Compact w/ CT LG-448):


I have a Pearce grip on this now also ^^ and the CrossBread Supertuck is on the way that supports the laser.

Woop woop!

 

my next revolver is this 340PD its 11.4 ounces

 

I have the same setup!

Anyway, the reason why one might be more inclined to use a revolver for CCW over a polymer semi-auto is situational. More than likely if you are going to use a gun to defend your life, I.E. when you're being attacked, you're going to fire the gun usually either from point-blanke pressed against your attacker, or at a distance no greater than about 7 yards.

If you are firing a weapon at someone either from under your shirt, or that is pressed up against their abdomen, the sliding action of the semi-auto can get clothing or MEAT stuck in the breach, rendering the weapon useless after a single shot. With a revolver, there is no chance that you will have feed or ejection problems, and if you have a misfire you do not have to re-chamber a round- you simply just pull the trigger again.

There are also courtroom issues that deal with the practicality of caring a CCW with a higher round payload, say a subcompact S&W M&P that holds 12 rounds of 9mm versus a 5-shot .38 special revolver. There have been countless courtroom battles on the basis that "A weapon that holds x amount of bullets is not for defense but specifically designed for wounding and killing multiple people".

Also, a J-frame is very easily to conceal and carry in the wasteband. I can wear shorts and a t-shirt in the middle of summer and conceal a J-frame. I know many people will argue that you can do that with some polymer semi-autos, but frankly a person with a comfortable-to-conceal handgun is far more likely to carry it everywhere they go, while a person who might have to alter the way they dress slightly to accommodate a larger frame weapon might occasionally leave theirs at home or in their vehicle.

So in reality, it all boils down to murphys law. If anything can go wrong, it will. A J-frame 5-shot revolver puts the odds in your favor on all counts.

 

Wow, thank you for the awesome, thought out response. Everything you said makes since. Hrmm.. now i'm going to be looking for one lol...

 

Just goes to show you that there's no substitute for holding different guns before buying and seeing which one feels better. It's for the reason that I just stated that I'll never buy a S&W auto or a Glock in anything bigger than 9mm. I just don't dig the way they feel.

 

im carrying my 640-1 357 Jframe today using a ClipDraw

im wearing basketball shorts today with no belt....with the clipdraw and tightening up the string in the shorts is more than adequate to keep it in place...

 

I love the reliability of revolvers. My main CCW is a S&W 642-2 with a Crimson Trace laser sight. I carry Speer Gold Dot 125 gr. Personal Defense rounds. I totally trust this gun to saving my life if needed.

I have had people argue that it only shoots 5 rounds. I don't ever go into places where I would need more than 5 rounds. Are nine rounds enough in a .45ACP? Are 13 rounds enough in a 9mm. When do I stop? If a round is a dud then pull the trigger again. You can't do that with a pistol. Dirt and lint in a holster, no problem. Simple mechanics = reliability.

 

Let's see, a snubby for concealed carry and under $400. To stay under $400, I would recommend a Charter Arms Patriot in .327 Federal. These can be had for pretty close to $400 new and carry six shots instead of 5 for the typical snub nose.

A Charter Arms may not be as smooth as a Ruger or S&W but they are very reliable and the .327 Federal is quite effective. I recommend the Speer Gold Dot, 115 grain round. I have the Ruger SP 101 in a .327 but it may be a bit more than you want to spend and has a 3" barrel instead of the traditional 2" for a snub nose.

Cheers.

JB

 

That is TOO cool. +1 for that, I'm going to grab one of those!

 

I don't believe I've heard of a conviction in a "bad" CCW shoot where capacity was the issue. Any decent lawyer should be able to blow that argument out of the water by simply pointing out that the police carry semi-autos with similar capacity. It's the same defense used when "mean ol' hollowpoints" come into play. This should not be a reason to select a revolver over a semi-auto. If someone can point toward a court case where this argument led to a conviction, I'd love to read it.

Your other points are spot on. I didn't read the cleanliness argument but for those of us especially who pocket carry daily, a revolver is less inclined to malfunction due to lint. Even in a pocket holster, lint is an issue.

 

A conviction? Probably not. But it's always under the prosecutors sleeve in almost every case, and it's when anti-gun advocates cite particular cases in which is HAS been made a part of the prosecutions attack that it does the real damage.

One case I am familiar with is that of Larry Lindsey, an elderly man who followed an erratic driver who ran him off the road and ran a red light, in order to get his license plate information. The young guy realized he was being followed, and Larry ended up being lured into an apartment complex. He drew is Kimber 1911 .45 when the original guy and two of his thugs from the apartment complex started charging at his car and screaming at him, and they ended up backing down and then running inside and calling the police on him. He had 3 full magazines of Hydrashock .45 and was charged with 2 counts of felony menacing.

The first thing the prosecution said was that he was just looking for a fight, and had enough ammo to kill 12 people. The guy was an asmatic elderly man who was using a cane because he was hit by a car when he was crossing the street, thus his motivation to hunt down the erratic driver. Obviously there is a great deal of detail to this story, but you get the gist.

So, what do you think will happen to YOU or ME, much younger people who are not disabled, if we were to defend ourselves with 12 rounds of 9mm hollowpoints? It just makes more sense to ME to just carry a 5-shot J frame to avoid going through litigation like that. I feel 5 rounds is enough for me to defend myself.